END GAME: A Gamer Romance

He’s my knight in shining armour, but not the romantic kind a girl dreams about. This one invaded my online world and threw everything into chaos.

My sorcerer can kick his ass in the game, but real life kicks mine. Gaining experience points online is easier than in reality, and when I play, I know where my quests lead. In the real world, the storylines confuse me, and I don’t know which direction I’m heading in.

In the game, I’m in control. Or I was until he arrived.

This guy never shares anything about himself, and I only know him as ‘Thorsday’. My Aussie gaming nemesis can’t be a blond haired, blue-eyed god in reality. Can he?

There’s something about this enigmatic man that intrigues me, and the more we play together, the bigger my desire to meet him. And I know he feels the same.

The problem is, if I allow my game world to merge with reality, I could die standing in the fire.

Today is a first for me… One of my books has been translated! My English Christmas novella, Snow Kissed, is now available in Portuguese with a new name: ‘Natal Com Neve’. Hopefully this will be the start of many more translations, including other books and languages too.

Natal Com Neve is available on all Amazon stores (and on Kindle Unlimited)

Fall into Magic with 20 Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Reads

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Prepare to be swept away by 20 paranormal romance and urban fantasy tales from today’s NY Times, USA Today, and international bestselling authors! In this limited edition collection, you will find everything from witches to mages, shifters to vampires, demons, faeries, and much more!

Under the Veil: Paranormal & Magical RomanceShort Story Boxed Set(Under the Veil & Beyond the Veil Set 1)

Under the Veil is ‘Where Magic Begins.’

From the 20 USA Today, International, and Award Winning Bestselling Authors of the Beyond the Veil boxed set, we start you off with steamy, magical & paranormal romance short stories to introduce our characters and whet your appetite, leaving you panting for more.

Don’t miss out on our boxed set of full length novels coming to you in Beyond the Veil on April 4th!

This year has been one of ups and downs in my personal life and my writing schedule is a big mess. Every week I receive messages about Forever Sky asking when I plan to publish. I’m worried about giving an answer because I don’t want to disappoint people if I change the date – but feel bad that so many people are waiting and waiting.

So, I came up with a solution:
I am going to serialise Forever Sky on Wattpad, starting April 2nd.

What does this mean?
Forever Sky is partially written already. Each week, I will add a scene to the book on Wattpad of around 1000 words (sometimes more, sometimes less). This will continue until the book is finished and I will take the Wattpad version down when Forever Sky is published.
As this is an ‘as is’, unedited version there will be some error and later changes but it means those waiting can follow Sky and Dylan’s journey sooner.

Finding Evan re-releases on March 29th – SIX days!
Ness and Evan’s story continues from Because of Lucy in this emotional new adult romance. Ness and Evan return to Leeds from Europe, and begin their new life together. But the past Evan has buried for years resurfaces and threatens their future.

Today I’m sharing a scene from the book.

Excerpt

NESS

When Evan appears, he’s jacketless despite the cool day. I shiver; just looking at him in his thin T-shirt makes me cold but also warm inside. I can’t help but feel a little smug when I take in the sight of my hot-as-hell boyfriend. With his damp-chested, mussed hair, post-workout look, he fuels the less than clean thoughts I have about him as I watch.

Evan doesn’t notice me at first; he’s on the phone and his eyebrows are pulled together in consternation. I recognise his hunched stance as frustration, and suspect he’s talking to his sister. Evan rests against the pillar outside as he continues his conversation, oblivious to those around.

A slender girl with long blonde hair passes me with her equally blonde friend. I watch them. Do they share the same box of hair dye to go with their identical straightened hair and designer gym gear?

“Book me in with him,” one of them says and giggles.

I jump to alert. There’s only one ‘him’ in the vicinity.

“Nope, all mine. Twice a week.” The giggling intensifies, and an unfamiliar feeling creeps across my scalp when it’s apparent they’re talking about Evan. Jealousy.

“He can get me hot and sweaty anytime!”

I tense at their immature sizing up of my boyfriend. Then I find myself doing something I didn’t intend. I stalk across the path towards Evan and dump my bag on the floor.

Evan’s eyes widen in surprise and he finishes the call. “Ness!”

Without a word, I slowly moisten my lips, and his eyes darken as I move in to kiss him. Evan grabs my rear and pulls me against his soaked chest, crushing his mouth against mine. He smells of workout sweat and deodorant, a mingled scent I associate with Evan – and sex. Tongue darting into my mouth, Evan holds me tighter. I’m lost in time for a moment, until Evan peels me off him.

“Well, that was an unexpected surprise.” He regards me with shining eyes. “Not like you.”

I smile up at him, loving his reaction. “I brought you lunch.”

“Suddenly, I’m not very hungry.” The intent almost has my agreement, but I control myself.

“I am. I brought a picnic.” I rummage in my bag, and from the corner of my eye, I spot the girls staring at us. An immature sense of triumph fills me. God, I might as well just stamp my name and phone number on his head.

“Damn. Okay then.” He kisses the top of my head and laces his fingers in mine. I disentangle them and push Evan’s arm over my shoulder, wrapping mine around his waist. If I’m going to behave like I’m fifteen, I may as well continue. I shoot the girls a look on the way past.

We find a picnic spot on campus nearby, a wooden bench amongst the trees, autumn leaves at our feet. I snap open the container lids and hand Evan a fork.

My face heats at the memory of that particular town – and what we did on the beach. In the dark. The curve to his mouth when he meets my red face draws me back from the sandy memories.

“I’m glad this is distracting you,” I say.

“Distracting me?”

“The last week or so you’ve seemed like you’re carrying stuff again. Is Lucy okay?”

Evan scratches the edge of his eye. He doesn’t realise, but he does this when he’s about to hide something from me. “She’s okay. Well, not really. But nothing major.”

After a few moments, I realise this is the limit of his conversation on Lucy. So I dig into my salad and close my eyes, wishing we were back in Greece. Carefree. I open an eye – life isn’t like that. Evan stabs at his salad; he has some sauce by his mouth, so I rub it off with my thumb.

Catching my hand, he sucks off the sauce, firing heat inside me. “Thanks for this,” he says. “It’s always nice to have extra time for us.”

“Come over tonight?” I suggest.

“Of course.”

“But I have early classes tomorrow.”

“I’ll get you to bed early,” he says, and leans over, running his tongue along my bottom lip. I inhale sharply, and he laughs against my mouth.

I lick the salty sauce he left on my mouth and his eyes zone in. We’re sharing a picnic and somehow it’s become an exercise in eye sex. We really need to spend more time together.

“You still okay for Saturday?” I ask, pushing a forkful of food into my mouth.

“Saturday?”

“The MedSoc thing?”

“Shit.”

“What?”

“I have to go to Lancaster. I promised Lucy…” He trails off and focuses on his food.

Heart plummeting back into the realm of insecurity, I breathe deeply. “So no then?”

“I forgot. I’m sorry.”

“I told you weeks ago about this night! This is important. You always complain I don’t involve you in this stuff.” The attempt at hiding my irritation fails.

“I said I’m sorry,” he says, tone hard.

“Fine. There’ll be other times.” I stab a piece of feta and look the other way as I eat.

We continue our meal in silence. “What did you promise her?”

He looks up sharply. “Lucy? Just Lucy stuff. I should’ve thought. Sorry.”

I sink back against the bench with enough force to show Evan I’m pissed off with him. Evan doesn’t react and we finish our picnic in silence. He promised we’d go to the MedSoc night together. Does Lucy really need him that much he’d let me down? Evan said it’s nothing major, and he’s lying. So much for revisiting the summer today. What we’re doing now is rewinding to last year. To Lucy and whatever the hell Evan isn’t telling me.

***

Read the first book Because of Lucy exclusively on Amazon. FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Ness watches girls fall over themselves for Evan’s attention, but she has no interest in the hot English student who includes poetry in his seduction techniques.
Evan is amused by the uptight girl who refuses to fall for his charms, and engages in a battle of wits to win her over. But Evan is struggling with a side of his life he keeps hidden and the secretive behaviour threatens his new relationship with Ness.
When everything falls apart, Ness and Evan are both faced with difficult choices. All because of Lucy.

Only a few days until the new Because of Lucy is released. I’ve decided to share a small part of some of the new content. Exclusively on my blog!

So, what’s this new content I’ve written for the book? Well… I’ve worked on developing Ness and Evan’s relationship so you’ll find more scenes with them as a couple. More Evan and more banter! You’ll see a little more of the student Evan too – and so does Ness.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of their conversations from one of the new scenes:

“See you later, Evan.” I step into the rain; I’d also rather get soaked than watch what happens next.

Evan catches up to me. “Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Don’t you want this?” He holds out the mug. The rain trickles off his large hand and I meet his eyes.

“What?”

“I’m waiting for you, you idiot.”

“Don’t call me an idiot.”

“You’re bloody funny. Can we not stand in the rain?” He indicates the sheltered building and my shoes fill with water as I follow him back through the puddles. “Here.”

“You drove out here to bring me coffee?” I take the warm cup in my damp hands.

“Yeah. That okay?”

“Why do that?”

“I went to your house to see you and Abby told me you were at work.”

“You could’ve left your number for me.”

“I could’ve, but I didn’t.” He steps closer and brushes rain from my face with cool fingers. “I wanted to see you.”

“Jesus, my head hurts enough.” The rain continues, and I sit on the nearby bench. My stomach fills with familiar butterflies as Evan sits next to me. “You’re a confusing guy.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Nicer than misogynist, anyway.”

I stare at my damp feet. What the hell is going on here?

“Don’t you like coffee?” He points at the cup. “Are you a tea drinker? Earl Grey or something fancy from a china cup?” I scowl at his teasing, but the friendly eyes and that smile pull me in. “I’ll bring tea next time, but I might spill it if you insist on the posh cup.”

I sip and shake my head. “Coffee is good. Thank you.”

“No problem.” We lapse into silence, and the rain hits the metal roof above us. The girls leaving work splash through the puddles, a couple of them throwing curious looks in our direction. “You busy tonight?”

Downfall (The Incorruptibles Book 1)

From Amazon bestselling author S.D. Wasley comes her first work of new adult paranormal romance perfect for lovers of Lauren Kate’s Fallen and the Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series.

Frankie’s cousin wants her to do three things this year:

1. Lose her inhibitions

2. Do something spectacularly stupid
3. Fall madly in love

Travelling was Frankie’s life. As the daughter of a big-name evangelist, she’s been able to feed her hunger for new sights throughout most of her teenage years. Then a hushed-up scandal gets her thrown off the tour circuit and stuck at her uncle’s house in the town of Augur’s Well.

Forced to repeat her failed senior year, it looks like a dismal existence for Frankie—until she’s invited to the bizarre meeting place of four mismatched people … and falls hard for the fascinating, secretive Cain Aleister.

Furtive meetings in an underground chamber … Latin words carved into a stone wall … intense desire … and a secret so elusive she’ll do almost anything to bust it open. Until now, Frankie never believed in grand passions—but that’s not the only one of her beliefs about to implode right before her eyes.

“Where are your friends?” He nodded toward the wall with the carven words. Somehow I’d missed it on my first look around the room, but now I saw a man stretched out asleep on a ragged sofa. “Who’s that?”

“Cain.” Jude took the chip bag out of my hands. “I’ll just put these cans in the cooler. You wake him up.”

“Me?”

Jude went down a dim corridor. I looked back at Cain, who still slumbered peacefully. Screw that. I wasn’t waking up this guy I’d never met. Jude could do that when he got back from his cooler mission. But an odd feeling of recognition came over me and I drew closer. Was it possible I knew this man? From school? No way. He was older than me by at least a few years. From Dad’s church? Seemed unlikely. I knelt beside the sofa, looking up and down the length of his body, from his tangled brown hair to his bare feet, lying one on top of the other. His left arm was exposed, palm up, and tiny scars peppered its crook. When I worked my examination back up to Cain’s face I found his eyes open, mirroring the shock and fascination I felt. We gazed at one another for a long, tense moment.

Finally his eyes flicked upwards, above and behind me. “Who is she?”

I hadn’t noticed Jude standing skittishly at my back because I couldn’t take my eyes off Cain. His face now he was awake was … well, there was no word for it but stunning. It wasn’t even something identifiable, like striking eyes or sensual lips. Just a face that could make you forget to blink until your eyeballs dried out. A face that could, and was, making my body react—despite my efforts to control it.

“What is she doing here?” Cain’s voice was calm, a still body of water against Jude’s nerviness.

“I thought you might think she’s, uh … okay …”

Cain nodded. I felt a rush of air from Jude as he turned away, heading down that dark corridor again. Cain sat up and lit a cigarette, rubbing the back of his head. He offered me one and I shook my head in wordless distaste, although these cigarettes didn’t seem as bad as most. In fact, I couldn’t really smell it at all. He drew on it deeply and gave me a smile, fixing his eyes on my face.

“Hello, Francesca Caravaggio. I’m Cain. Cain Aleister.”

“Frankie.” My reply sounded lame, helpless, because I was seriously disturbed by that smile. It didn’t seem fair that he could keep climbing degrees of stunning like that. “Everyone calls me Frankie.”

He puffed on his cigarette. “The others will be here soon.” His voice. It was soothing, comforting, and intimately warm.

“Who are they?” I asked, more to distract myself than from actual curiosity.

“There’s Liz. She’s a nurse I met in the hospital when I came off my bike.”

“Yeah. Well, no. I haven’t always been in town. Not for the last few years.”

“Why’s that?”

Okay, here it went. This was the bit where I admitted to this guy who was incredible in a way I had never—not in forty-five cities over three years—seen before, that I was Don Carver’s daughter. If I could have closed my eyes to get it over with, I would have.

“My father’s a well-known author,” I said in a rush. “He made it big in the last few years and I’ve been touring with him. It takes me out of town for most of each year. Took,” I corrected myself, the new reality coming back to me like a slap. “It took me out of town for most of the year, but not this year. I’m staying in Augur’s Well now. To study.”

“Oh.”

He played with his cigarette for a moment before lying back on his sofa, positioning himself so he could still observe me. That’s it? I watched him, suspicious. He wasn’t going to ask why? He wasn’t going to ask my dad’s name? He wasn’t going to tell me he’d heard of my dad’s Saints Among Us book series and live shows and thought they were a load of bullshit?

“Have you always lived in Augur’s Well?” was all he asked.

“Uh, no. We lived in Land’s End for a few years. That’s where my mum comes from. Dad had a job managing the grocery store so we lived there till I started school.”

“Did you like that? Living on the coast?”

“I loved it.” He waited, but I hesitated to give him any more information about myself. I was already at a major disadvantage in this situation. I seized the questioner’s role. “So … you’re not at school, I guess?”

Cain gave a small smile. “Not for a few years now.”

“Been in Augur’s Well long?”

“No. Just a year. I lived in Revel City before that.”

“Did you get a job here or something?” I couldn’t think of any other reason someone would move from vibrant Revel City to the flat, anonymous town of Augur’s Well.

“Just knew I had to live here.” As he spoke he watched me closely. Was he trying to detect a particular reaction?

I didn’t give him one. “Okay.”

I wanted to ask how old he was but wasn’t sure that was something you asked a man you’d just met. It had never come up as an etiquette issue for me before. Cain reached for an opened soda can and shook it to see if any drink remained, and then dropped his cigarette into the can. It hissed as he turned his head back and smiled at me again, that terrifyingly beautiful smile. My whole body responded to it. I looked away, telling myself to get it together. Where the heck is Jude?

Today we are celebrating the release of CADENCE by Lisa Swallow! This is the start of a brand new series, Ruby Riot, and it is a spin-off from Lisa’s Blue Phoenix books. Be sure to check out the special sale going on and enter to win the giveaway!

Tegan Hughes joins Blue Phoenix and Ruby Riot on tour, and drummer Bryn isn’t the only one who notices his little sister isn’t a kid anymore.

Jax Lewis is the guitarist for Ruby Riot and the band are rising to success. He’s hot property and loving every minute of his new found fame. Now, he’s on tour supporting Blue Phoenix and living his rock star life to the full. Until Tegan walks into his world and puts the brakes on.

Tegan Hughes is taking a year out and has her sights set on touring Europe with her big brother’s band. Blue Phoenix drummer, Bryn isn’t happy when his sister arrives unannounced at his hotel in Lisbon, but Tegan isn’t the type of person to take no as an answer.

With her big brother breathing down their necks, Jax and Tegan attempt to keep a handle on their growing attraction but that proves harder than they thought. Jax is used to getting whoever and whatever he wants and after kissing Tegan once, he knows one thing…he wants more.

The problem is, Tegan isn’t rock star girlfriend material. She has ambitions of her own and refuses to let anything stand in the way of her plans. But when Jax and Tegan’s relationship becomes public knowledge life becomes a hell of a lot more complicated.

Cadence is the first standalone book in a new rock romance series, Ruby Riot. The series is a spin-off from the Blue Phoenix books but you do not need to read the Blue Phoenix series first.

BUY LINKS:

This book is available exclusively through Kindle Unlimited (for FREE) or you can purchase it for .99 cents for 2 days only!